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Terauchi interview transcript, Dick Gordon, 2 Jan 1987

FAA via National Archives / The Black Vault · 20 pages · text from the file's own layer

This FAA record of interview documents a January 2, 1987 session in Anchorage, Alaska, in which Inspector Richard O. Gordon of FSDO-63 questioned JAL Captain Kenju Terauchi about his crew's November 17, 1986 sighting. Terauchi describes two small craft with exhaust-like lights that flew near his aircraft and a much larger mothership, and says the target appeared green on his onboard radar. He also reports VHF interference and says the objects matched his 360-degree turn and his descent.

K. Terauchi (Japanese) 0.1 ah, inch
F.
R.
F.
R.
F.
R.
Fujii
Gordon
Fujii
Gordon
Fujii
Gordon
About 0.1 •••
Just right on the horizon, the sun was setting?
Yeah, yes. So they don't want to go toward the ship side, they
stayed away from it.
Toward the dark side.
Yes
So that would have put them to the east like on the Canadian side
you're coming down on your side (unintelligible) captain's side?
K. Terauchi Yes
R. Gordon Okay I understand.
K. Terauchi I think, perhaps, they have regulations like they must not be
seen by humans. But it was a surprise to see the sudden
appearance in front of us. If the machine was set automatically
for the distance of eight miles away from us, the machine will
not come closer than eight miles (but they jumped in front of
us), so I felt there was a living creature in it. It jumped in
front of us, very unusual. They took such unexpected action.
Try the other one(?)
F. Fujii Seems like they're trying to stay away, I guess there's some kind
of regulation for them to not be seen by • • •
R. Gordon Ah uh, I understand. I have one more question that came up that
I was thinking; now when he departed, departed east? Is that
what someone told me; which direction did, when he departed, went
away?
F. Fujii Which direction did it take off to?
K. Terauchi I don't know. Probably to the east.
F. Fujii He thinks it's east, he's not really sure. He was looking at it
and it just dissappeared, so •••
R. Gordon Okay, appeared that it went east, but it went so fast?
K. Terauchi So fast.
R. Gordon Okay
F. Fujii He wa s watching it and it just disappeared •••
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Hearing transcript, cited by the archive. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 20 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.